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 THEOSOPHY: 
 
 AN APPEAL TO MY COUNTRYMEN, 
 
 BY 
 
 S. SATTHIANADHAN, M.A., LL.B. (Cantab.) 
 
 Formerly Foundation Scholar, Corptis Christi College, Cambridge, ; 
 Acting Professor of Logic and Moral Philosophy, 
 
 Presidency College, 
 
 First 
 
 '/ /“h r . ;/ 
 
 i \ i\ 
 
 MADRAS: 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY. 
 S. P. C. K. PRESS, VEPERY. 
 
 1893 . 
 
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THEOSOPHY 
 
 AN APPEAL TO MY COUNTRYMEN, 
 
 BY 
 
 S. SATTHIANADHAN, M.A., LL.B. (Cantab.) 
 
 Formerly Foundation Scholar, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 
 Acting Professor of Logic and Moral Philosophy, 
 Presidency College, Madras. 
 
 x __ 
 
 First Edition, 2,000 Copies. 
 
 MADRAS: 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY. 
 
 8. P. C. K. PRESS, VEPERY. 
 
 1893 . 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 AN APPEAL TO MY COUNTRYMEN. 
 
 Thb Present Religious Crisis in India. 
 
 Nowhere doesthe unrest, which is characteristic of modern 
 India, manifest itself so conspicuously as in the departmeut 
 of religious thought. There is not the slightest doubt of 
 the fact that Young Iudia that has come under Western 
 influence is drifting away from the traditional religion. 
 English education has ha 1 the effect of undermining the 
 faith in orthodox Hinduism, without, in most iustauces, 
 substituting auy definite faith in its stead. Hut though 
 the influences brought to bear upon the educated classes 
 have in most iustauces been subversive, still we are not 
 justified in regarding the sceptical tendencies of New 
 Iudia as anything more than accidental. A well known 
 American writer, who travelled iu India some years ago, 
 said: — The best Hindus with whom I came in contact, 
 men cultivated, profound, clear seeing, are free thinkers 
 to a miQ.” This, I believe, is not quite the experience of 
 those who have a wider acquaintance with the educated 
 classes. We no doubt notice sceptical ten lencies in New 
 India, but these tendencies are the natural products of the 
 stage of transition which the country is passing through. 
 Before any race or nation passes from the stage of instinc- 
 tive faith and authority to that of reflective faith and 
 private judgment, it generally passes through an epoch 
 of scepticism; but consideriug the fact that some of the 
 best products of modern India — men such as Ram Mohun 
 Roy and Chuuder Sen, Telang and Ranade — have not been 
 content with a purely negative creed, and considering 
 also that other more important fact that the Hindu is 
 instiuctively religious, there is no ground for fearing that 
 the new influences will deprive our couutrymen altogether 
 
4 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 of their essential national characteristic, — the faith in and 
 reliance on an all-pervading Power which 
 
 Unseen, it helpeth ye with faithful hands ; 
 
 Unheard, it speaketh stronger than the storm. 
 
 The new Influences at Work. 
 
 The absence of vital religious activity within the pale of 
 Hinduism is no doubt one of the most discouraging signs 
 of the times. There is of course Brahmoism which has 
 awakened a section — a very small section — of the educated 
 classes to the necessity of creating around them a social 
 atmosphere, morally invigorating, religiously healthful, 
 intellectually enlightening, but it must be remembered 
 that Brahmoism, as acknowledged by its leaders, owes its 
 vitality to a great extent to the influence of Christianity. 
 “ The Brahmo Soma],” said Keshub Chunder Sen, “ is the 
 legitimate offspring of the wedlock of Christianity withi 
 the faith of Hindu Aryans. Christianity came and moved 
 with our old oriental faith, and from that time we grew.” 
 Various external influences are however being brought 
 to bear upon New India to establish a new order of things, — 
 to substitute a definite religious conception in place of 
 orthodox Hinduism, which is ceasing to be a living power in 
 the mind of the educated classes. Among these influen- 
 ces there is one to which the attention of enlightened 
 India is being specially directed at this moment, and that is 
 Theosophy. I wish in this short paper to consider calmly 
 the claims which are put forth on behalf of Theosophy by 
 some of its adherents, and to examine how far this new 
 creed is likely to afford a haven of refuge to India in 
 transition. 
 
 The first Stage of Theosophicai. Progress in India. 
 
 A few years ago, Theosophy exercised a marked influence 
 on the educated classes. There were several features in 
 this creed, as propounded by its founders, Col. Olcott and 
 Madame Blavatsky, that were specially attractive to the 
 Hindu mind. But the course of Theosophicai progress 
 in India suffered a severe shock by the fearful public 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 exposures of Madame Blavatsky’s frauds, with the aid 
 of which she tried to prop up her new creed. This is how 
 Mr. H. J. S. Cotton, the author of Nero India, sums up 
 the history of Theosopliical progress in India in its first 
 stage : — 
 
 “The subtleness of its (Theosophical) teaching, and the 
 degree of scope which the supernatural interference of 
 spiritual, or so-called astral, phenomena afford to the ima- 
 gination, are features peculiarly congenial to the Hindu in- 
 tellect. A belief in the doctrines of Theosophy is consist- 
 ent with the tenets of Brahmoism, and even with the pro- 
 fessions of orthodox Hinduism. The native mind has also 
 been able to see that in some occult manner, but with a 
 definiteuess and force quite unmistakeable, the European 
 adherents of the system have been elevated by a kind of 
 moral regeneration from indifferentism, and sometimes from 
 positive dislike, into sincere and hearty sympathy with the 
 people of the country. The conditions have, therefore, 
 been favourable to the spread of Theosophy among natives. 
 Tossed to and fro by every blast of vain doctrine, they have 
 rallied round the new-fangled ideas of this weird and 
 obscure system with an eagerness which shews the need 
 among them of a more rational and satisfying belief. But 
 already the enthusiasm of the movement has spent itself. 
 The public exposure of some of the directors of the new 
 cult has proved a severe shock to its votaries, and 
 many of them have renounced their allegiance. Although 
 they are full of faith and trust, to an extent to which 
 Engl ishmen of the nineteenth century are almost incapa- 
 ble of understanding, they cannot but refuse to remain 
 permanently enslaved by a belief in phenomena which are 
 not only incapable of demonstration, but are alleged on 
 credible testimony to be propped up by fraud.” 
 
 This was written in 1886 ; since then the cause of Theoso- 
 phy has been declining rapidly and when Madame Blavatsky 
 died in 1891, it was generally understood that India at all 
 events had heard the last of Theosophy. But Mrs. Besant’s 
 visit to India has aroused once more the enthusiasm of my 
 countrymen in this weird and obscure creed, as it is once 
 
6 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 morebeing pressed on their attentionwith considerable force 
 and eloquence. It is on religion more than on any other 
 subject tliat individuals need to work out their beliefs 
 independently without taking them second band, from 
 whatever source it may proceed. As has been well said : — 
 “ Religion, in order to be real religion, a man’s own 
 religion, roust be searched for, must be discovered, must 
 be conquered. Jf it is simply inherited or accepted, as 
 a matter of course, it often happens that in later years 
 it falls away, and has either to be re-conquered or to be re- 
 placed by another religion.” But the childish credulity 
 with which the utterances of Mrs. Besant are regarded as 
 gospel truth by my educated countrymen shows clearly the 
 extent to which they bring their own thoughts and feelings 
 to bear upon the momentous subject of religion. 
 
 The Indefiniteness of the Theosophical Creed. 
 
 Theosophy is entirely a foreign movement. It had its 
 origin in America in 1875, its founders being Col. Olcott 
 and Madame Blavatsky. Its object, as stated in the origi- 
 nal rules of the society, were (1) to form the nucleus of a 
 Universal Brotherhood, without distinction of race, creed 
 and colour; (2) to promote the study of Aryan and other 
 Eastern literature; (3) to investigate the hidden mysteries 
 of nature and the psychical powers latent in man. There 
 is nothing in these objects to shew that the movement is a 
 religious movement. If it is a religious movement, what are 
 we to believe ? Are we to believe in a personal God '( No. 
 This can’t be ; for the founders of the Theosophical move- 
 ment do not recognize a personal deity. Here is a quotation 
 from the Theosophist: “ Ordinary people rashly jump to the 
 conclusion that we are all believers in a personal deity. 
 No graver mistake could ever be committed. Theosophy 
 with us means Divine Wisdom, or rather the knowledge of 
 that which is yet a mystery to the ordinary run of mankind. 
 In this sense even a Materialist is a Theosophist, because 
 he is ever trying to find the operation of such laws of 
 nature as have not yet been discovered.” But we now 
 find Materialism being denounced as something antagonis- 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 7 
 
 tic to Theosophy. If we ask Mr. Sinnett we shall be told 
 that Theosophy is merely Esoteric Buddhism. Mrs. Besant, 
 on the other hand, has been telling us that the Upanishads 
 and the Bhngavad Gita contain Theosophical teachings. 
 No two Theosophists are agreed as to what exactly 
 is the teaching of their system. What India needs at 
 present is a plain, positive, practical religion, something 
 that would lift the people from the mire of degradation and 
 superstition in which they are sunk. The maxims and 
 teachings found in the Hindu books of old, though some- 
 times good in themselves, are far from satisfying the 
 newly awakened feelings, such as the longings after 
 something ideally perfect, the love of God and the inner 
 cravings after goodness of such men as Ram Mohun Roy, 
 Keshub Chunder Sen and others. It becomes therefore 
 the duty not only of those who have devoted their 
 lives to the study of different religions, but also of those 
 who value religion and reverence it, to have their faith 
 well grounded on a religion which is not mere mys- 
 ticism, but a religion which will inspire noble thoughts and 
 deeds, and thus give the truest purpose to the longings for 
 a higher nature and a higher life. When we ask what 
 Theosophy really is ? we are treated to such meaningless 
 phrases as the following : — “ Identifying ourselves with 
 nothing,” “ To go out towards the Infinite” &c. I wonder 
 what notion our poor countrymen will have of religion and 
 God when such meaningless phrases are thrust on them. 
 
 As regards the establishment of a universal brother- 
 hood of humanity, it is indeed a noble object. But it 
 must be remembered that Theosophy attempts to esta- 
 blish this brotherhood without recognizing the Fatherhood 
 of God. It is needless to point out that Brotherhood without 
 a Fatherhood to inspire and strengthen it, is an idea absurd 
 in its very nature. As regards the second of the original 
 objects of the Theosophical Society — viz., to promote the 
 study of Aryan and other Eastern literature, religious and 
 scientific, and vindicate their importance, excellent as this 
 object is, it is to be feared that the promoters of the 
 Theosophical cause have not begun to set about it in the 
 
8 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 right way. Not a single individual prominently connected 
 with the society has attempted to study Sanskrit or any of the 
 oriental classics. Mrs. Besant has no doubt been talking 
 learnedly about ancient Hindu philosophy and science, but 
 it is evident that the information which she manages 
 to clothe in eloquent language is all derived secondhand 
 from English magazine articles and reviews. Speaking 
 of Madame Blavatsky’s pretensions to ancient Hindu 
 literature, Prof. Max Muller writes : — “ No one can study 
 Buddhism (aud as for that matter Brahmanism) unless he 
 learns Sanskrit aud Pali, so as to be able to read the canon- 
 ical books, aud at all events to spell the names correctly. 
 Madame Blavatsky would do neither, though she was quite 
 clever enough, if she had chosen, to have learnt Sanskrit or 
 Pali . . . Unfortunately she was without the tools to dig 
 for those treasures in the ancient literature of the world, 
 aud her mistakes in quoting from Sanskrit, Greek, and 
 Latin would be amusing if they did not appeal to our sym- 
 pathy rather for a woman who thought that she could fly 
 though she had no wiugs, not even those of Icarus.” Mrs. 
 Besant’s acquaintance with the ancient literature of the 
 East in the original is even less, but her presumption in 
 expounding Vedic philosophy in her lectures is even more 
 astounding. 
 
 Theosophy and Psychic Phenomena. 
 
 I wish to say just a word about the third object of the 
 Theosophical Society : viz., the investigation of the hidden 
 mysteries of nature and the psychical powers latent in man. 
 It is in the carrying out of this object thatMadameBlavatsky 
 had recourse to some of the most barefaced tricks and 
 impositions that it has been the misfortune of human beings 
 to wituess. It is needless for me to refer here to the strong 
 language with which the scientific world aud the press, both 
 English and American, have denounced her as an impostor 
 and a hypocrite. Suffice it here to quote only the verdict 
 of the Psychical Society : — “The marvellous narratives put 
 forward as evidence of the existence and occult power of 
 the Mahatmas are to be explained as duo either (a) to delib- 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 9 
 
 erate deception carried out by or at the instigation of 
 Madame Blavatsky, or ( b ) to spontaneous illusion, or hallu- 
 cination, or unconscious misrepresentation, or invention on 
 the part of witnesses.”* Madame Blavatsky stands con- 
 demned before the world as one of the greatest impostors 
 of the age, and so long as no attempt whatever was 
 made, even during her life-time, to vindicate her charac- 
 ter, and so long as her works and writings are re- 
 garded as the fountain head of Theosophical lore, so 
 long will the odium attached to her name attach itself 
 to the movement itself. I am aware of the fact that some 
 of the most prominent Theosophists, being thoroughly 
 ashamed of the despicable part played by Madame Blavatsky 
 in order to gaiu adherents to her cause, now say that the 
 merits or demerits of Madame Blavatsky have nothing to do 
 with the cause itself. “ Those who most love and revere 
 Madame Blavatsky/’ says Mr. Sinnett in that exceeding- 
 ly tame reply of his to Prof. Max Muller’s criticism of 
 Esoteric Buddhism,! “ are doing the worst service they 
 can render to the cause she worked for, by pinning 
 her name to Theosophy, and making it look a sect 
 with one fallible mortal at its head.” The absurdity of 
 such a position is too clear to need pointing out; for take 
 away Madame Blavatsky’s incoherent and mystifying 
 teachings from Theosophy, which are repeated by her 
 followers and others, in still more incoherent language, there 
 will only be left the so-called occult phenomena which the 
 scientific world has pronounced to be clumsy conjuring 
 tricks. Madame Blavatsky is the real founder of Theo- 
 sophy, and whatever Mr. Sinnett may say, Mrs. Besant 
 at all eveuts pins Madame Blavatsky’s name to Theosophy. 
 When Madame Blavatsky died in 1891, it gave an oppor- 
 tunity to all the English papers to re-review her career 
 and the part played by her in the Theosophical movement, 
 and every journal spoke of her as the founder of Theosophy. 
 Nothing could be more humiliating to Theosophists 
 than the final verdict that was then passed on the high- 
 
 * Vide the publication of the Christian Literature Society entitled, 
 Theosophy Exposed. t Vide Nineteenth Century, June 1893. 
 
10 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 priestess of Theosophy. Here are just a few of the opi- 
 nions : — “ Had Madame Blavatsky,” said the Illustrated 
 London News, “ possessed a graiu of honesty in her won- 
 derfully complex character she might have been called the 
 most remarkable woman of her age. As she was, she 
 acted the part of a charlatan.” “Madame Blavatsky’s 
 career,” said Truth, “ ought to encourage every woman 
 who wishes. to be the high-priestess of a new religion, and 
 to live in comfort on the money of fools, at once to go 
 into the new sect business. All that she has to do in order 
 to succeed is to take care that her religion is so mystic 
 that no one can understand it; to have some confederates ; 
 and to be able with their aid to practise, with more or less 
 of skill, a few of the ordinary tricks of a street conjuror.” 
 “ Madame Blavatsky, who died on Friday was an impos- 
 tor, but in her way she was at least as clever as Cbigiostro 
 in his, and she probably had more dupes.” It is indeed a 
 sickening task to recount the deeds of this personage in 
 connection with the Theosophical Society, but the cause 
 of truth demands that this should be done; for Madame 
 Blavatsky, we must remember, stands in the same rela- 
 tion to Theosophy as Buddha does to Buddhism, or Con- 
 fucius to Confucianism. 
 
 Esoteric Teaching op Theosophy. 
 
 1 have not alluded to the so-called Esoteric teaching 
 of Theosophy, for the simple reason that it is perfectly 
 unintelligible to me. Mrs.. Besant in her lectures has 
 condescended to give some glimpses of this teaching to 
 her audience, but to the uninitiated what she says is 
 perfectly meaningless. We have a number of high sound- 
 ing Sanskrit words pronounced most inaccurately, but 
 woven cleverly and eloquently into clauses and sentences; 
 but the audience, beyond being tickled by flattery, returns 
 no wiser that it did before hearing her. But the question 
 is : Is there any Esoteric teaching of any kind in either 
 ancient Brahmanism or Buddhism ? On this subject we 
 should prefer to be guided bv scholars, such as Prof. 
 Max Muller, Rhys Davids and others, who have studied 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 11 
 
 the oriental scriptures in the original, than by either Madame 
 Blavatsky or Mrs. Besant, who does not even pronounce 
 the Sanskrit words properly. By the bye, we do not 
 hear so much of Esoteric Buddhism as of Esoteric 
 Brahmanism from the lips of Mrs. Besant. Perhaps Eso- 
 teric Buddhism is reserved for Japan or China. What 
 does Prof. Max Muller say about Esoteric teaching? — 
 “If I were asked what Madame Blavatsky’s Esoteric 
 Buddhism really is, I should say it was Buddhism mis- 
 understood, distorted, caricatured. There is nothing in it 
 beyond what was known already, chiefly from books that 
 are now antiquated. The most ordinary terms are mis- 
 spelt and misinterpreted. There never was any such 
 thing as mystery in Buddhism. Altogether, it seems to 
 me that mystery is much more of a modern than of 
 an ancient invention. There are no real mysteries even 
 in Brahmanism, for we can hardly apply that name to 
 doctrines which were not communicated to everybody, but 
 only to people who had passed through a certain prepara- 
 tory discipline.” So far Prof. Max Muller. But even 
 granting that there is an Esoteric element in Brahmanism 
 and Buddhism, I ask of what good is this to the masses of 
 India, who, the Theosophists themselves admit, cannot 
 attain to such knowledge. A creed which appeals only to 
 the enlightened and occultly initiated few, and leaves out 
 of consideration the vast majority of mankind, is hardly 
 entitled to any consideration, and the scheme of life pro- 
 pounded by Theosophy, though possessing a fictitious attrac- 
 tion of its own, makes no provision for the mass of mankind, 
 those who toil and suffer and are nursed in the lap of 
 adversity. Truth is universal, and it can never be made 
 the monopoly of a handful of men and women. 
 
 Theosophy versus Materialism. 
 
 There is one aspect of Theosophy, as represented by Mrs. 
 Besant, which needs a passing remark. This lady begins her 
 theosophical campaign every whereby attackingMaterialism, 
 and in this she does well, though by doing so she departs 
 somewhat from the course adopted by earlier Theosophists, 
 
12 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 who did not object to enlisting even Materialists under their 
 banner. The dominant influence of the age is Materia- 
 lism in some form or other. The advance of science has 
 not been without its advantages. Discoveries in almost 
 every branch of science have transformed human life 
 completely. Knowledge has been accumulated in a way 
 never before dreamt of. Distance has been all but annihi- 
 lated. Vast conquests have been made over physical pain 
 and disease. But notwithstanding these advantages, the 
 rapid progress of science has not been without its corres- 
 ponding disadvantages. There is a tendency to subordi- 
 nate Mind to Matter, to regard consciousness as a function 
 of the nerves, and to ignore spirit and spontaneity. One 
 effect of Materialism is to deny the Freedom of the 
 Will. Materialism exhibits man as a mere sequence of 
 physical action and reaction, it explains will and conscience 
 as merely a little force and heat organized. Though 
 Mrs. Besant attacks eloquently the philosophical basis of 
 Materialism, still she does not appear conscious of the fact 
 that some aspects of Theosophy lean more towards 
 Materialism. For instance the doctrine of Karma, which 
 she has been defending in some of her lectures, carried 
 to its logical conclusion, is nothing but pure Fatalism 
 which is the outcome of Materialism. Nowhere does 
 Theosophy refer to Duty and Obligation. Even Tyndall, 
 notwithstanding his fnaterralistic tendency, says that, grant- 
 ing him proper health of body, there is no spiritual 
 experience, no resolve of duty, no work of mercy, no act 
 of self-renouncement, no solemnity of thought, uo joy in 
 the life and aspects of nature that would not be still his. 
 Huxley also has said that “ the beauty of holiness” 
 and “ the ugliness of sin” are perfectly real to him ; 
 but we never hear Theosophists speak of the beauty of 
 holiness or the ugliness of sin, — conceptions which are not 
 foreigu to Hindus. Mrs. Besant in her lectures attaches 
 little or no importance to the ethical aspect of materialism. 
 This is not surprising, for so long as Theosophists repudiate 
 a belief in a personal God and a personal immortality they 
 cannot help ignoriug morality. Nothing but a beliof in a 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 13 
 
 personal God can give a logical and full account of the true 
 nature of the moral ends. The thought that we owe our 
 existence to a personal God, to one whom we can address as 
 ‘ Our father’, who reads the very secrets of our hearts and to 
 whom we are responsible for every thought and action of 
 our life, — such thoughts undoubtedly place the relation in 
 which we stand to our fellowmen in an entirely new light. 
 It has been well said that “it is only from the filial rela- 
 tion that the paternal springs.” There is no use placing 
 before man high ideals of life unless a way is pointed out 
 by which he can carry out these ideals to some extent at 
 least into practice ; but man, helpless as he is, bound down 
 to lower aims by ties of self and sin, how can he, unless he 
 trusts implicitly in the Power that worketh all things for 
 good, and with whom he has definite relations, ever hope 
 to have his higher aims realized? Our efforts to improve 
 the world will end in emptiness if we are not sustained by 
 a belief in a personal God. Banish this belief on which the 
 highest system of ethics is based, and the following picture, 
 drawn by a poet of the last century, will soon be realized : 
 
 “ Religion, blushing, veils her sacred fires, 
 
 And, unawares, morality expires : 
 
 Nor public flame nor private, dares to shine ; 
 
 Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine.” 
 
 In the present critical state in which my countrymen are 
 placed it is of the utmost importance that the claims of 
 morality should be put forward in all their force and com- 
 pleteness. For the regeneration of India, we need men 
 and women who will prefer self-sacrifice to selfishness, who 
 will appreciate the sacredness of the word “ ought,” and 
 who will understand Duty to mean abnegation of self and 
 obedience to the unconditioned command of Right. So 
 long as Theosophy is destitute of the ethical element it can 
 prove of very little help to India in transition. 
 
 A Specimen op Mrs. Besant’s Lecture. 
 
 I had the pleasure quite recently of listening to one of 
 Mrs. Besant’s lectures in Madras, and I wish to draw atten- 
 
14 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 tion to some things that struck me in her lecture. She has 
 a wonderful command of the Euglish language, and she 
 possesses considerable oratorical powers. Her popularity 
 as a lecturer however does not depend so much upon 
 her eloquence or her learning as to the trick which 
 she employs of enlisting the sympathy of the audience by 
 posing as a martyr and to the outrageous flattery in which 
 she indulges. At the lecture which I attended she began by 
 speaking with emotion of the slanderous attacks that had 
 been made upon her and upon those dear to her, aud then 
 in pathetic language she spoke of the virtue of forgiveness 
 which she said she had learnt to exercise. Of course this 
 took immensely with the audience, but where was the need 
 for all this exhibition of martyrdom ? So far as I know, 
 instead of Mrs. Besant being slandered she has been deified 
 by the Indian public. TheDewau of Mysore is reported to 
 have spoken of her as the incarnation of Saraswati, and the 
 excitedly worded telegrams that appeared in the Hindu and 
 other papers clearly show with what enthusiasm she has 
 been welcomed by the Hindu population. There have, no 
 doubt, been some publications exposing Theosophy, aud in 
 these publications the writers have been obliged, ranch 
 against their will, to allude to Madame Blavatsky’s frauds, 
 but so far as I know not a word is said against Mrs . Besaut’s 
 character in these publications. Her attacks o n Western 
 Civilization were mbst illogical She identified Materia- 
 lism not only with Western Civilization, but she had the 
 audacity to insinuate that the worst effects of Materialism 
 were partly due to the influence of Christianity. She alluded 
 in her lecture to the evils of social anarchy, to the sensualism 
 and love of ease of the upper classes in Englaud, and to the 
 povei’ty of the lowest classes, and then turning to her 
 audience asked : ‘ Are you going to allow these evils to 
 be repeated in your beloved country, by adopting Western 
 Civilization and everything foreign in religiou and 
 philosophy’ ? Alas ! such are the arguments which are 
 applauded to the echo by the so-called odncated classes. 
 Her allusions to dogmatic Christianity now and then 
 were entirely uncalled for, for her attacks were entirely 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 15 
 
 based on the assumption that it was the dogmatism of 
 Christianity that drove the working classes in England 
 to scepticism. Now this is a most illogical assumption, 
 for it is evident that the causes of the scepticism in Eng- 
 land are innumerable, and yet with a view to cry down 
 Christianity, Mrs. Besant does not scruple to put the whole 
 blame on what she chooses to call dogmatic Christianity. 
 Talking about dogmatism, could anything be more dogmatic 
 than the teachings of Theosophy which we are asked to 
 accept on the authority of Mrs. Besant or Madame Blavat- 
 sky? Such are some of the lines of argument which this 
 lady lecturer adopts to mislead the Indian public. 
 
 An objectionable Feature of Mrs. Besant’ s Mission. 
 
 A most objectionable feature of Mrs. Besant’s mission 
 to India is her outrageous flattery of Indians and of 
 everything connected with India which is beginning to be 
 resented by the thoughtful among my countrymen. Colonel 
 Olcott too resorted to the same course at the commence- 
 ment ; but he has latterly grown wise, after finding that 
 while his own immediate followers swallowed the flattery 
 they did not pay up their subscriptions. We who are 
 aware of the exact condition of our country know more 
 than Mrs. Besant, who is a perfect stranger, with only 
 a few weeks acquaintance with the country, how to esti- 
 mate at its true value the ancient civilization of India. 
 Nothing has been a cause of such incalculable harm to 
 the cause of progress and truth iu this country as the 
 flattering of the vanity of the Indians, by referring in 
 season and out of season, to the greatness of their ancestors 
 and their civilization. Whenever an allusion is made 
 to their ancient and learned forefathers, the great truths 
 embodied in the Hindu Scriptures, the grand lessons 
 which the West has to leaim from the East, &c., our 
 countrymen are as a rule flattered immensely, but such 
 talk only helps to keep them in a fool’s paradise. It 
 renders them proud and indolent, and makes them oppose 
 blindly every effort made to raise them from the deplorable 
 condition in which they are at present. Hoes Mrs. Besant, 
 
16 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 who extols Eastern civilization at the expense of Western 
 civilization, know the present deplorably low social, moral 
 and intellectual condition of the people of India ? Is 
 she aware of the position to which the women of India 
 have been reduced by this very civilization which she 
 praises ? Does she know all the horrors connected with 
 enforced widowhood and infant marriage ? Men, who are 
 themselves within the pale of Hinduism, are longing for a 
 better state of things, and here we find an English lady, 
 who has come on a brief visit to this country, praise 
 in the most reckless manner ancient Indian civilization. 
 Just imagine what the position of Mrs. Besant herself 
 would be if she came under the sway of the civilization 
 she praises. The very first thing she will have to do is to 
 shut up lecturing, for Hindu civilization will not allow of 
 women going about from place to place by themselves and 
 discoursing in public. Moreover, she will not have two 
 thoughts in her head to speak about in public, for Hindu 
 civilization does not believe in female education, and her 
 lot cannot possibly be anything different from that of the 
 ordinary Indian woman whose sole purpose in life is — 
 
 “ To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.” 
 
 It is difficult to realize that Mrs. Besant is really serious 
 when she talks about the greatness aud superiority of 
 Indian civilization. Does Mrs. Besant know what Hindus 
 themselves, who know more about their ancient civilization, 
 than she can ever hope to learn, think what the effect will be 
 if New India were to be guided by past ideals ? Here is 
 what one of the foremost among the educated sons of India 
 has said, — I quote the words of Dr. Bhandarkar, the pre- 
 sent Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bombay and one 
 of the most profound Sanskrit scholars of the day : — 
 
 “ Here I feel myself in duty bound even at the risk of displeasing 
 some of you, to make passing allusion to the most uncritical spirit 
 that has come over us of praising ourselves and our ancestors 
 indiscriminately, seeing nothing hut good in our institutions and in 
 our ancient literature, asserting that the ancient Hindus had made 
 very great progress in all the sciences, physical, moral, and social, 
 and the arts,— greater even by far than Europe has made hitherto — 
 and denying even tho most obvious deficiencies in our literature, 
 
THEOSOPHY. 
 
 17 
 
 such as the absence of satisfactory historical records, and our most 
 obvious defects. As long as this spirit exists in us, we can never 
 hope to throw light dn our ancient history, and on tho excellencies 
 and defects of our race, and never hope to rise.” 
 
 Mr. Manomohan Ghose, a leading citizen of Calcutta, is 
 reported to have said some time ago : — 
 
 “ He felt a legitimate pride in the ancient civilization of India, 
 but he was bound to say that an undue and exaggerated venera- 
 tion for the past was doing a great deal of mischief. It was quite 
 sickening to hear the remark made at almost every public meeting 
 that the ancient civilization of India was superior far to that which 
 Europe ever had.” . . . 
 
 “ It must be admitted by all who had carefully studied the ancient 
 literature of India that the much- vaunted civilization of India was of 
 a peculiar typo, and that it never could bear any comparison to what 
 we call modern European civilization. Whatever might be the case 
 in ancient times, he thought that this frequent appeal to our ancient 
 civilization could serve no good purpose at the present day, while 
 it was simply calculated to make the Bengalis more conceited than 
 they were.” 
 
 Here again is the testimony of no less an authority 
 than the editor of the leading Hindu paper in South India as 
 to what the ancient civilization is likely to do to our country 
 under present conditions. I am quoting from the address 
 on Social Reform delivered recently in Madras by Mr. G. 
 Subramania Iyer : — 
 
 “ Whether our ancient civilization did good or did not, is not the 
 point ; the point is whether in its present changed and decrepit 
 condition and amidst the new environments introduced by the 
 modern contact of the East and the West, and by the modern appli- 
 ances of civilized life, the outcome of modern, positive sciences 
 our ancient civilization will supply the nation its new wants and 
 protect it from the continually growing pressure from outside. 
 We urge that our social system and our character should undergo 
 change in response to the demand made by the novel surroundings 
 of the country, the fresh life that animates the nation, the new 
 leaven that is leavening the lump. So far as it is possible to 
 accomplish this object without breaking with the past, we are 
 certainly in favour of preserving the old moorings. Indeed no 
 progress is possible without the basis of the past; but at the 
 same time ail progress implies some sacrifice and some repudiation 
 of the past, some rupture, and some deviation from it. Nor is it 
 necessary that the reforms that are advocated should mean the 
 Europeanizing, so to speak, of this old Eastern nation. Reforms are 
 
18 
 
 THEOSOPHY. 
 
 advocated not because the reformers want to introduce into this 
 country the peculiarities of a foreign civilization, but because they 
 feel that for the progressive well-being of their'people these changes 
 are indispensable.” 
 
 A small but earnest band of reformers are trying to 
 do all in their power, iu spite of misrepresentation and op- 
 position, to bring about a better state of things socially, 
 and their work would indeed meet with a fatal check if the 
 advice of Mrs. Besant and others to follow past ideals were 
 giveu effect to practically. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 I have stated briefly what I consider to be the defects of 
 Theosophy, and I leave it to my countrymen to judge for 
 themselves whether this weird and obscure creed is in any 
 way worthy of their support. I have pointed out tbe 
 indefinite nature of the so-called Theosophical creed ; I have 
 shewn that not one of the three objects of the Society put 
 forward originally, though excellent in themselves, have 
 been or can be given effect to so long as the search for 
 Theosophical lore is pursued in the way it is being done ; 
 I have also pointed out that so long as the founder of the 
 system stauds condemned as au impostor, the system itself 
 cannot gain the confidence of the public; that Sanskrit and 
 Pali Scholars assert that there is no Esoteric doctrines 
 in either Brahmanism or Buddhism; that the exponents of 
 Theosophy, however gifted with eloquence, cannot be 
 regarded as the proper expounders of Hindu philosophy 
 or religion, so long as they derive their information second 
 hand from Magazines and Journals ; that Theosophy pro- 
 pounds no scheme of salvation for the masses ; that by sub- 
 stituting a vague abstraction for a personal God, Theosophy 
 not only renders the doctrine of the Brotherhood of man a. 
 mere sham, but also endangers morality ; and lastly that 
 its teachings are antagonistic to. social progress. That my 
 countrymen, who are now being tossed to and fro by every 
 blast of vain doctrine, should be guided aright iu their 
 search after truth, is my earnest wish and prayer. 
 
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